Restaurants of New York City : Bobby Vans Steakhouse
Written: Jan 04 '05 (Updated Jan 05 '05)
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Pros: Salads are extremely fresh and delicious. Steaks very flavorful.
Cons: Waitstaff doesn't seem to know what anything they serve tastes like.
The Bottom Line: Great restaurant if you are looking for a steak or salad, if you want the seafood, you can definitely find something better elsewhere.
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| biscuitfarmer's Full Review: Bobby Van's Steakhouse |
I have been blessed with the opportunity to travel all over the world in my lifetime. From the days when my father was in the military, to my horrible job as a traveling sales rep, to my wife who is now in the military. I have been all over the country so many times I can't keep track. I can't think of a state that I haven't been to besides Hawaii, and I can't think of a great city, that I haven't ventured into on at least one occasion.
New York City is one of those places however, that no matter how much traveling you do, you always make sure that you come back. With so much to do, and so much to see, there's no wonder it's the biggest city in the country.
Bobby Van's Steakhouse Background
Contact
230 Park Ave
At 46th St.
New York, NY 10169
(212) 867-5490
Reservations are strongly encouraged
Cost
Plates here are somewhat expensive, but definitely worth the price. The average plate is from $30-$40.
Dress
This is a casual dining atmosphere, while you will see some people dressed up in full suits, the majority are in Sunday Best attire. I wouldn't overly stress yourself with dressing all that extravegant, but I wouldn't dress down too much either.
Smoking
The restaurant is a no smoking restaurant, so if you have to have a smoke, you are going to have to go outside.
Menu
The menu is mostly steak and seafood. They have a very small variety of steak overall, focusing on only a few steaks that they do extremely well. The Porterhouse steak is probably my favorite, that or the Filet Mignon, both of which are heavily marinated for an extremely strong flavor.
The steaks are fairly small in size, especially for the price, so make sure that you order appetizers, otherwise you'll require a snack if you wish to go out after dinner.
The seafood comes in a variety of options from fish, lobster, scallop, shrimp, etc. The seafood definitely isn't their main focus as it doesn't taste anywhere near what the prices suggest it should. If you are dying for seafood, I would highly suggest not coming to this restaurant as you will definitely be disappointed, especially with the high prices for a meal.
The salads come in about 10-15 different varieties and all of the ones that I have tried are extremely delicious and are one of my main draws to this restaurant. They have some of the best salads around, with homemade dressings, and extremely fresh vegetables, that look and taste perfect. My recommendations for salad are the Caesar Salad, which is a standard salad anywhere, but here, it's the best. The Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato is also an excellent choice for any salad lover. My wife however, prefers the Three Color Salad.
Generally, we avoid the appetizers as they aren't that appealing, especially for their price. The main reasoning behind coming to this restaurant is because they have some of the best steaks in town and by far their salads are the best, even with price as a consideration.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere in Bobby Van's, is very relaxed, as it should be for a being a casual dining environment. There are quite a few younger patrons, so don't be afraid to bring your own. The lighting is somewhat subdued and calming. The seating is more than appropriate for the environment and quite comfortable. If you are interested, you can always request candles to have a candle lit dinner with your significant other.
Customer Service
While the customer service isn't something as good as I am accustomed to, it isn't the worst in New York City either. The people don't seem to be blatantly unhelpful, I think it just may be that the majority of them haven't had the opportunity to try much of the food, due to the cost involved. Even if they were given half off of the food, the price would still be quite expensive for the waitstaff to eat on a regular basis. Their lack of REAL knowledge of the food, makes it a little more difficult to find out exactly what is good here and what isn't. It seems that pretty much the only thing that they really know about the food is from what other patrons have told them, which is often times misleading.
I think that the management should work on this aspect of customer service, as I feel it is extremely important in a sit down style restaurant. If the waitstaff don't know the food, then the customers could order something they truly don't like and will never return. This is my personal opinion anyway.
Cleanliness
The overall cleanliness of the restaurant was quite impressive. The bathrooms were virtually spotless, including the mirrors. The floor was swept twice while we were there the last time and in previous visits I have noticed they have taken a lot of time to sweep and clean up the restaurant at regular intervals.
While I have never been able to see the kitchen, judging by the looks of things, the kitchen is probably well taken care of, as the management seems to run a pretty tight ship as far as cleanliness is concerned.
Overall
Overall, the steak is absolutely wonderful and worth going back for, which is why we have been there three or four times ourselves. The seafood on the other hand is something that is not all that impressive and I definitely could do without. I am a huge fan of seafood, so being that their seafood wasn't up to my standards, was quite disappointing. Probably the best thing about the restaurants and the main thing that keeps us coming are the salads, which come in good size servings and have homemade dressings that are wonderful.
Everything about the restaurant is welcoming, except when it comes to the lack of knowledge represented by the waitstaff. That is probably the major downside about the restaurant, is that the waitstaff, just don't seem to completely know what is going on, nor do they really seem to care.
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: No
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations If you are going to this restaurant, make sure to avoid the seafood, as it is definitely not the caliber that the price suggests. The steak is absolutely wonderful and aged perfectly. The salads are probably the best reason to go to Bobby Vans as they are perfectly flavored and have high quality ingredients.
Best Suited For: Romantic Evening
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